We're taxed, but not represented. Because the only thing that incentivizes accountability to the people, the election process, is compromised by wealthy elite. Like those that participate in influence peddling in both parties. These people are actively fighting for aristocracy, attacking democracy, and the constitutional right for tax payers to be represented by their government. The result of this favoritism has led to 40 years of growing economic inequality, which is systemically intertwined with every other noted issue, in our ecosystem of a society.

To have a government accountable to the people supersedes every other issue. No policy will change in your favor without one. Not healthcare, not environment, not education, not military, not trade, until politicians are more incentivized to work for the people, than for corporate donors, and solely profit focused shareholders. That means 1 person 1 vote, equalizing financial influence of voters, competitive elections for politicians, and ease of participation for voters. That means election accountability. Groups at the tip of the spear for correcting these conflicts of interest, and power centralizing mechanisms, are:

The Anti-Corruption Act, a substantive and thorough Anti-corruption ballot initiative. The first state wide initiative was passed in South Dakota, but repealed through a "state of emergency", showing that it's obviously the right policy to implement to reclaim our government.

Ballotpedia, a resource for understanding ballot access laws on all levels, great for individuals looking to run for office themselves.

Countable, a group attempting to simplify bills, and the means of communicating with your representative.

League of Women Voters, they provide a range of support services, such as voter registration and candidate forums. A great group to volunteer for.

Democracy Spring, which is focused on civil disobedience and applying pressure to congress, specifically on issues like campaign funding and voting rights.

Brand New Congress, which takes a unified attempt at replacing established congress members with those that accept a more progressive, publicly funded agenda.

And, Represent.Us, which focuses on getting anti-corruption laws on ballots for the people to vote into law, bypassing congress all together.

Supporting “Rootstrikers” like these groups, candidates who aren't beholden to corporate/centralized donations, and media that reports for more public sponsors instead of commercial. While also getting others to understand this societal issue of election accountability, out voting, and personally participating in the political process. These are the actions needed for actual revolution, and improvement of our society. Increased personal involvement, and investment into accountable political outlets. So get informed, and participate.

It can only be done by the people. It can only be done by you. Remember, no one rules alone. Thus no one can serve you without your involvement, input, and support. Even if there isn’t anyone you wish to support, your very involvement gives you political power, and holds politicians more accountable to your demographics. Not participating is just giving your power away to those who are already trying to take it. There isn't another path. You must actively participate in your society politically, or you will lose your society to special interest and corruption.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Wealth and power are centralizing. Has been steadily since 1979, you can see by looking at charts about US income inequality, (http://www.stateofworkingamerica.org/who-gains/#/?start=1979&end=2008). Because of this we're ending up with two classes. The lower class and the upper class. The upper class, and systems they control like security forces, are getting more authoritarian, especially the more separated and isolated they get. We can see this in our growing prison systems and their privatization, the military with increased funding and global action, police forces becoming militarized, spy agencies disregarding basic constitutional rights, and policies legalizing these actions in the name of security.

So the root of the problem is that the Republic is no longer accountable to the American people as a whole, but instead corporations, wealth, and established power (like incumbents). Campaign finance/funding/bribery isn't the only reason for this lack of control. There's also:

The Electoral College: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wC42HgLA4k). (Though I agree there is a necessary function to having a system where the more politically involved and informed people have more power then the masses, there is a counter narrative that the more power and responsibility the people have, the more informed and involved they'll become to wield that power in their own interest. Voter turnout seems to validate this perception especially when looking at more democratic countries like Norway, or even America in the 50's.)

The Revolving Door: which is a movement of personnel between roles as legislators and regulators and the industries affected by the legislation and regulation. Be it politicians working for companies as a reward for favors while in office, or lobbyists moving into regulatory positions: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XLuaebpdAA)

Absurd ballot access laws: Some states require exorbitant amounts of signatures to get on the ballot or have complex and intimidating signature sheets. This raises campaign costs dramatically to even have the opportunity to be voted for, thus only the wealthy can get elected. Every state is very different when it comes to these rules, even organizing it with a presidential campaign team proved to be incredibly difficult, so I can only vouch for this paradigm through my personal experience canvassing in different states.

Also minor but growing accounts of, election fraud, electronic vote rigging, and restrictive voter ID laws. (which are there to attack the virtually non-existent voter fraud, the one thing that's actually not threatening democracy and the electoral process at this time.)

As for what to do about this, I'm not entirely sure, I've worked on third party presidential campaigns, have marched in groups on multiple sides of the political spectrum for this cause (Ex: OWS/Tea party), written and distributed articles, told everyone I know again and again, supported groups that push for solutions (Rootstrikers/Wolfpac/Open debates etc..) The only two routes left that have any potential in my mind to solve this problem of un-accountability, is the Sanders Campaign for the top down effect, and Represent.us for the bottom up. All in all, it really comes down to educating people about the core problem in our society, and coming to some agreement that we can collectively push for. Because every solution I've been a part of simply didn't have the numbers/activity/people interested that was necessary. Which to me is absurd because basically every major issue stems from an un-accountable government and profit to be made.

Friday, January 25, 2013

The best way way to get rid of a broken system is to replace it with one that's better. So I did.

If your having trouble seeing the image I suggest going here: http://imgur.com/M50yAEh
You can click on the like to enlarge it there.

The two party concept is distructive to politics and public discourse, it's a monopolization of political views. It describes everyone as just being a republican or democrat, which leads people to believe that they have to support one candidate over the other because the other one is worse. Even if that candidate doesn't really fit with your interest or political views. It also gives the appearence of making two candidates who are very much alike seem different, because you have nothing else to compare them to.

The saying goes, voting for the lesser of two evils is still supporting evil. How can anything get better if we're stuck with such limited choices and limited thoughts.

Edit: I just found a wonderful video that does a pretty good job of breaking down this issue, though he says the issue is "Collectivism" I think that's only because he's blended it with centralization of power, where as I've separated the two because you need a little bit of collectivism to balence out individualism for the sake of society. Where as centralization of power is noticably more destructive.http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rxDwT55rmIw

We
have six major issues to solve in America, they affect every other
aspect about our lives, and they are the reason we haven't succeeded
in solving other major issues.

The first three, which are the
most important, are: 1) Campaign Finance, 2) the Revolving Door and
3) the Consolidation of Media.

1) Campaign Finance affects
everything. Every policy and decision that matters gets warped in
favor of whoever has the most money to spend on politicians, whether
or not you vote for a democrat or republican, because both have the
incentive to get re-elected, and under our current system that desire
forces them to focus on who's funding them, rather than the general
populace. Therefore, policies lean more in their favor because if
they don't, the rich will just fund someone else who will favor
them.

2) The Revolving Door is also a part of the
centralization of power because people are put into positions where
they face a conflict of interest. Ex: Working for a corporation, then
being put into a position that regulates said corporation, then going
back to work for said corporation, give a financial incentive to have
a bias to the corporation, thus directing more power and money to
that corporation.

3) The Media has become centralized, thus
their narrative is less diverse. Its focus is on profits instead of
reporting, creating an atmosphere that favors entertainment more than
informing the public, which is its societal function. As well, media
do not report about certain corporations for fear of losing funding
through advertising. This has been seen on cable news channels more
than anywhere else, and has had an effect on the psychology of
America.

These three issues have consolidated an immense
amount of power into the hands of very few people, an “Elite” you
could say.

After resolving these, we must fix the structure of
our government. The manipulation that has happened to our democracy
has allowed the government to become highly unaccountable to the
American people. These manipulations include: 4) Gerrymandering, 5)
Election Fraud, and 6) Open Debates.

4) Gerrymandering
distorts and manipulates our democracy. It disenfranchises voters and
allows politicians to manipulate elections in their favor, against
the will of the people, by drawing districts however they want.

5)
Election Fraud is completely unethical. It is literally the stealing
of political positions. This cannot be allowed because it is another
form of taking or holding on to power that people did not actually
entitle to the individual who won a rigged election.

6) Open
Debates are an important part of our democracy. They allow the
American people to become informed of our political situations from
different perspectives. If other perspectives are not allowed in,
diverse concepts and solutions are not heard about. This lack of
competition allows politicians who may not have the best ideas or
interest to obtain power without challenge.

These six issues
take precedent before any other issues, because they are the reasons
we can't solve any other issues.

This is why our Federal
Reserve is corrupt and has no transparency. 76% of the board
directors of the Federal Reserve are presidents or CEOs of companies
that the Federal Reserve is supposed to regulate.

It is why
banks like HSBC can get away with laundering money to terrorists and
drug cartels, and not go to jail, whereas you could spend years in
prison for possessing a small amount of pot.

It is why we have
the largest prison system in the world, because corporations profit
from their labor and how many prisoners they have.

It is why
marijuana and hemp (a plant that isn't even a drug) are illegal, even
though they provide endless benefits to a society.

It is why
we have low wages and high unemployment, because our trade and tax
policy export jobs to places like China so corporations can profit
off of the cheap labor.

It is why there are 24 empty homes for
every homeless person in America.

It is why America’s
healthcare is 38th in quality, yet we pay twice as much as France
which is number 1, or the UK which is 18th with a single payer
system.

It is why we have a Monsanto lobbyist as the head of
the FDA, allowing GMO's to be allowed in our food despite the danger
they pose.

It is why the “American society of civil
engineers” currently gives America a D grade on its
infrastructure.

It is why we waste so much money on an illegal
immigration policy that is completely ineffective.

It is why
the U.S. is 17th in education, even though we annually pay $2,000
more per child than Finland, which is number 1.

It is why we
don't address our environment, even though signs such as extreme
weather and erratic temperatures are becoming more obvious.

It
is why we aren't able to move forward on our energy policy, even
though current policies have proven to be incredibly harmful to the
lives of Americans.

It is why we are losing more and more
civil liberties every day, and turning our country into a police
state.

It is why we are caught in endless war, bombing at
least five countries and gearing up for war in another.

It is
why we have a $16.4 trillion debt and a $1 trillion deficit.

It
is why we are 94th in income inequality, where the top 1% own 40% of
all the wealth and the bottom 80% own 7% of all the wealth.

This
is our system right now. Money equals influence, and that influence
over the government causes money to be directed toward whoever is
spending it on candidates in the first place. Those that legally
bribe politicians get a higher return on their investment, so they
end up having more money to spend during the next election cycle.
Those same politicians then put corporate employees in regulatory
positions, giving more power to corporations. That specifically has
aided in the consolidation of media, because media employees end up
in positions at the FCC, and those owners get to consume more of the
market through deregulation, leading to less diverse media and a less
informed public.

The issues mentioned above, have given
politicians enough power to control their own political careers
outside of what the American people want. How else do you get a
Congress with a 10% approval rating to end up with a 90% re-election
rate. Not through a democracy, but through campaign funding, closed
media, gerrymandering, election fraud and closed debates. All of
which have seen a consistent increase in recent years.

This
isn't a democracy anymore, this is fascism. It is the merging of
business and state through corruption, as well as the centralization
of power over a country through wealth and political
manipulation.

This is the silver bullet: Conflict of interest.
It is what we need to fix immediately. If we don't solve this
problem, I am left without ideas or hope and I fear that all is
lost.

For a longer, detailed and sourced version of this
article, please visit:
http://ckamerica.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-roadmap-to-prosperous-america.html

In
the words of Horace Mann: "Be ashamed to die until you have won
some victory for humanity."

Below I will be describing our
problems, solutions, and why we haven't achieved them yet. As well as
informing you of our current status in the US as I've found with my
research on news, because sometimes the solution is just simply being
informed.

The categories are bold and underlined,
some have sub categories.

Income Inequality:
Income
inequality tends to have dramatic effects on a society as a whole,
It's a good indicator on how healthy the structure of your society
is. (http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/research/why-more-equality)
Solutions to this category will be brought up with other categories,
since income inequality is part symptom and part cause. Though this
will at least give you a good idea on where we stand and where we
need to go.

The
problem with this is that, in our democracy right now, money equals
influence, and that influence over the government causes the
direction of money to be directed toward whoever is spending the
money on candidates in the first place. So basically, those that
legally bribe politicians, get a higher return on their investment,
so they end up having more money to spend during the election cycle.
The problem is feeding itself, and the rest of are left out to dry.
Not to mention that there is an active fight to keep things the way
they are as you can see here:
(http://www.alternet.org/economy/bill-moyers-plutocracy-will-go-extremes-keep-1-control)

The Federal Reserve is the reason why
we have a fiat currency, meaning that it is money that derives it's
value from government regulation or law, not an actual material like
gold or silver. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx16a72j__8)
As you see in the video, our very system of currency drives
wealth to the top and promotes income inequality, So, we either need
a new system, or we need a force that cycles that money back down to
the bottom. That force used to be the government, but the government
has been influenced by people who profit off of this system.

From 1944 to 1971 (one of the greatest
economic time periods in recent American history, though this could
be attributed to the new deal, the fact that we were the only world
power left unscathed after WWII, tax rates, unions and/or proper
regulation like the glass-stegal act.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCPg8fDYq_Q
)), the Bretton Woods agreement fixed the value of 35 United States
dollars to one troy ounce of gold. Other currencies were pegged to
the U.S. dollar at fixed rates. The U.S. promised to redeem dollars
in gold to other central banks. Trade imbalances were corrected by
gold reserve exchanges or by loans from the International Monetary
Fund. This system collapsed when the United States government ended
the convertibility of the US dollar for gold in 1971, in what became
known as the Nixon Shock. To learn a little bit about our current
situation and its history, I suggest watching this:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZrQilGtzP0)

There seems to be some long term
problems with a gold standard
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPM4doWhfNQ),
but there's good and bad with any system, as well as our current
system. A fiat monetary policy has a number of benefits, high levels
of liquidity, the ability to apply monetary policy and less expensive
to maintain. The negatives are inflation/hyper-inflation, bad
monetary policy, corruption, and it can not expand with the economy.
Right now I believe that we are headed towards another economic
collapse because of bad monetary policy, specifically quantitative
easing, which is believed to be causing inflation by endlessly
printing out money. Because of our current situation with debt and
borrowing money, it may have the possibility of destroying our
economy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0NtDzNzdTM),
as well as our currency.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEUjxpFKXGI)

The
problem is that the regulatory factor of the Federal Reserve doesn't
exist because many board members on the federal reserve hold the top
spots on the banks that they're supposed to regulate, with no
transparency. It was recently revealed that 76% of board directors of
the Federal Reserve are president or CEO of their company.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugz4DFzdUOY)

Some solutions to this would be to
disclose possible conflicts of interest by law, annually disclose all
financial interest by law, prohibit directors working for or having
material financial interest in financial institutions within it's own
country by law, and of course the only way to actually get any
regulation like this is to cut out the corruption in our government
with campaign finance reform.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUQyRhcP0B0)

Now I'm not advocating or justifying
this act in any shape or form, this is just an example of how
different the people at the top are treated compared to those at the
bottom. It's a major problem when an international bank funnels
millions of dollars to drug cartels and terrorists, and there are no
criminal convictions. We're supposed to have equal application of the
law, it's a clause under the 14th amendment. The Equal Protection
Clause, which requires each state to provide equal protection under
the law to all people within its jurisdiction
(http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/equal_protection
), but because we allow money to corrupt our system
(http://influenceexplorer.com/organization/hsbc-holdings/3c3f0a2212224ab38161e5c7abbb9fbe
), then justice isn't blind anymore. So if you’re rich, you can get
away with just about anything, but if you’re poor, well then you’re
out of luck.

The economy is made up of three major
sectors business (normally corporations), government and the people
(normally households). Right now the balance has been heavily shifted
in the favor of business and government and away from people.

The current unemployment rate is 7.9%,
but that is misleading because it does not count discouraged
potential employees who have quit looking, those who are
underemployed, or those wanting to work full-time but forced to work
part-time. Under that standard, unemployment is at 14.9% as of Aug
2012. The lack of jobs means lack of competition between businesses,
therefore lower wages.
(http://www.cnbc.com/id/48468748/039Real039_Unemployment_Rate_Shows_Far_More_Jobless
)

All of these statistics have put
Americans in a position where they are desperate, and more accepting
of taking jobs for lower pay, no matter their skill set. Thus the
status quo has become very abusive to the public well being.

There's a tricky balance that needs to
be acquired, it's between becoming fiscally responsible for
abolishing debt and continued spending to keep the economy running.
What needs to happen is that consumers need to make enough money so
that they can get out of debt, save money, and continue spending all
at the same time. The issue isn't that Americans aren't working hard
enough, worker productivity is at an all time high. The problem is
that all the wealth in America is being transferred upwards, this is
why the economy is getting worse, and will continue to get worse. The
blips of improvement that we are seeing are only because of the
government spending money that we don't have. The only time that it
makes sense to spend money you don't have is when you’re investing
in something that will generate wealth and capital. Things like
infrastructure, education, and healthy workers. Businesses do it all
the time with business loans, it works as long as it's a smart
investment that will generate wealth. Government isn't doing that
though, they've invested in war, corporate profits, and austerity.
This only assures an eventual economic collapse in the process.

So what we have to do is restore
balance in our economy, while minimizing damage. Income inequality
needs to be balanced out again for the sake of society (See: Income
Inequality). Preferably not so much through redistribution, but
actually holding the people who damage our society accountable for
what they've done. Wages need to be balanced out with inflation.
Adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage in 1968 would today be worth
$10.58 per hour. Going straight to $11 would be wise considering
inflation is going to continue.(http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/06/14/1099619/-A-few-reasons-why-raising-the-minimum-wage-is-a-necessity#
)

This would increase spending and the
demand for jobs, because of the increase in demand businesses will
have something to invest into in again. It's not just minimum wage
that needs to be adjusted, but all wages. Right now, people aren't
making enough to cover their expenses and debt, which is stifling the
economy. Raising the minimum wage by law is wise, but to raise wages
besides the minimum wage by law, is not. It simply distorts the
market too much.

We can't spend more to create jobs,
unless it's an actual investment that will generate more wealth,
because our government has to get it's debt under control. We're
going to have to raise taxes on the rich to be able to make some
investments, they've benefited greatly from the economic environment
of this society, and have not done their part to support the economic
environment we all live in. I'm advocating for an “effective” tax
rate of 40-50% on the richest among us, this means getting rid of tax
loop holes for the top tax bracket in our country, loopholes like
carried interest
(http://www.forbes.com/sites/janetnovack/2012/08/24/romneys-taxes-its-the-carried-interest-stupid/
).

In return, allow them to bring their
wealth from offshore accounts back into the country without taxing
them this one time. For the future though, income and corporate tax
evasion through offshore accounts needs to be eliminated. That's
much easier said than done, but it is simply extracting too much
wealth away from the country.
(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/30/corporate-taxes-offshore_n_1842553.html
)

Jobs have to be created so people can
survive, and produce. Hence we should lower the corporate tax rate to
20% - 25%, but make sure that it's effective, meaning everyone pays
it since 1 out of 4 corporations pay nothing at all.
(http://www.politicususa.com/bernie-sanders-1-4-profitable-corporations-america-pay-0-federal-taxes.html
)
Basically to solve these tax problems
we have to simplify both the individual tax code and the corporate
tax code, because it's become so complex and convoluted that it just
makes it easier to abuse. The individual tax code needs to be
progressive, meaning the more you make the more you get taxed,
because income inequality has gotten completely out of control. A lot
of the time money just sits there and accumulates because smaller
groups can only spend so much. After time, it puts a drag on the
economy because only the richest among us have money to spend, so the
problem just continues to get worse. As for corporations, they need
an effective flat tax with no loopholes or ability to evade taxes,
this is to create an equal playing field, corporations who do better
will succeed, those that do worse will fall.

We also have to restore unions, they
are an intricate part in creating a better quality of life for the
American worker, it will also help in the return of fair wages. There
is a problem though, Unions have the same corrupting force over our
government through campaign financing and lobbying. Because of this,
they have become a force that centralizes power in favor of them
selves, this is part of the reason they're known for using “mob”
tactics. Unions need to be fixed and monitored by the government,
once their influence over the government through funding has been
eliminated, then they can be restored.
(http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=P04
)

The biggest issue with jobs is that
there's a lack of investment in America because of trade. The lack of
jobs decreases competition between businesses here, which then also
leads to lower wages for workers. Our trade deficit is currently at
$42.2 billion dollars. Meaning that amount of money is leaving the
country, and jobs are going with it. Right now our trade policy
promotes exporting jobs and wealth to other countries, thus
supporting other countries in the name of profit.

The main reason that that this has
occurred is because of our trade tax policy, U.S. Exports to China
are taxed at 25%, Where as Chinese exports to the U.S. are taxed at
2.5%. So let's break this down with an example: If I have a phone
that costs $100 dollars to make, and for the sake of argument right
now, let's say it costs that much to make it in China and we're
excluding market value/maximizing profits on pricing, the scenario is
the same. Now I can make it in America, and sell it here without
having to worry about the trade tax so it'll still be $100, but in
China I'm going to have to sell it for $125 dollars to cover the tax.
If I make it in China I get to sell it there for $100 and to America
for $102.50, meaning a profit of $22.50 for every phone I sell. Thus
there's a financial incentive to ship jobs overseas. Now you may ask,
why don't corporations have industries in both countries? Therefore
they can sell it without the trade tax and don't have to worry about
the cost of oil with shipping? It's a good question, here's where the
issue is and the moral aspects as well.

In the scenario the phone costs $100
dollars to make, but that's not true for China and many other
countries. In China corporations routinely short change their
employees on wages (which are already lower than ours), withhold
health benefits, expose their workers to dangerous machinery, as well
as harmful chemicals, like lead, cadmium and mercury.
(http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/05/business/worldbusiness/05sweatshop.html?pagewanted=all
)

This is part of the reason the Chinese
lose out in quality of life, and why the cost of living is far from
what it should be. This article explains that very well, and why
other comparisons might be misleading.
(http://english.people.com.cn/90780/7605927.html
)

All of this means there are fewer
regulations, less worker pay, and less liability. Therefore cheaper
products, and high corporate profits. It's the main reason that
corporations like Walmart do so well. It's why the Walton family
(Owners of Walmart) have more wealth than the bottom 40% of America.
Because they've become so good at exploiting humans who live in
places like communist China, at the expense of jobs and wealth in the
U.S., all for personal profit.
(http://www.tradereform.org/2012/07/not-made-in-america-top-10-ways-walmart-destroys-us-manufacturing-jobs/
)

“Experience demands that man is the
only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder
term to the general prey of the rich on the poor.”― Thomas
Jefferson

That's the moral implication of this.
The rich taking advantage of the poor. Be it here or in China, that
is the extent of their actions when they're only guided by profit.
Also where you do business, send jobs to, and send money to, supports
that form of a society. It's the price of globalization. You now vote
on societies with your dollar. When you buy from China, or export
jobs to china you’re supporting a communist dictatorship. That's
the moral implication that this has caused, and America's suffering
for it.

It's sadly not just Walmart. For more information on
this and everyone else who exploits China and the U.S. for corporate
profits check out (http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/
)

Now remember it's not that trade is bad, there are cases where it's
beneficial to both countries, it's the fact that we don't have any
decent regulatory system in D.C. to protect us, basically because
they've been compromised by big money.

Infrastructure is basic physical and
organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or
enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy
to function. It can be generally defined as the set of interconnected
structural elements that provide framework supporting an entire
structure of development. It is an important term for judging a
country or region's development.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrastructure
)

There aren't many investments that give
you a return like that, so the sooner we're able to do this, the
better.

People are a form of infrastructure as
well, they are necessary for an economy to function, hence having a
healthy and educated society is important for growth and economic
strength. (See: Healthcare and Education) The nice thing about the
healthcare and education plan I've explained below is that they cost
less than what we're paying now.

This takes away a lot of money that
could be invested in more productive ways, Ex: Education,
Infrastructure, Preventive health measures, and Money in the pockets
of Americans. Healthcare is not going to have an easy cut and dry
answer though, Part of the issue is the lifestyle of America, We have
a high rate of Obesity (see: Food and Agriculture) “More than
one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) and approximately 17% (or 12.5
million) of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese.”
- (http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/facts.html).

We don't have an education system that
would cover the cost of medical school (see: Education), and there is
a religious factor as well. Many business owners aren't happy that
they would have to provide coverage that goes against their views Ex:
Contraception and birth control. That's why I'm advocating for single
payer, because businesses wouldn't have to worry about things like
birth control, as well as insurance, which would free up small
businesses greatly to create more jobs or pay workers more. It's less
complicated and it would also provide healthcare for everyone, Single
payer health care has better results, as seen with the United
Kingdom, and it costs less.

The confusing issue to keep in mind is that there haven't been many studies that show harmful effects on humans, but that's because studies have been blocked by Michal Taylor/FDA and other corporate influences in our government. So the only way to actually have a regulatory force that's trustworthy in handling these situations, is to restore accountability in the government.

Subsidies and Corn
Subsidies
currently favor corn and soy, which has helped bring us high-fructose
corn syrup, factory farming, fast food, and all the health problems
that come with it. If we just transferred the subsidies to healthier
foods like fruits and vegetables, we would incentivize healthy eating
again, thus saving lots of money on our medical bills.
(http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/dont-end-agricultural-subsidies-fix-them/)

This used to be because there was so
much supply that costs went down, farmers were losing their farms so
the government decided to put a bottom on the market. Times have
changed though, and it seems that these subsidies are just wasted
when they could be put to better uses.

Basically our entire system for food
has been compromised. Specifically because the same people who are
supposed to be regulating companies and protecting the American
people from possible dangers are the same ones who profit from those
companies. This is a tremendous danger. We've already seen multiple
issues that come from this system regarding our health, but we don't
know what the long term dangers are going to be on health. So I
suggest that we turn back, and focus on organic farming until more
can be learned. There have been political issues as well, such as
massive suicides, and a monopoly on food itself.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7DqaJ3QgHU)

Hemp, Marijuana, and The War
On Drugs:
Hemp is not marijuana. Even though they both
come from Cannabis sativa L., the varieties that are used to make
Industrial Hemp products (seed, fiber, etc.) and those that are used
to make marijuana (flowering tops and leaves) are distinctly
different. They are scientifically different and are cultivated in
very different ways. The THC levels in Industrial Hemp are so low
that no one could get high from smoking it. Moreover, hemp contains a
relatively high percentage of another cannabinoid, CBD, that actually
blocks the marijuana high. Hemp, it turns out, is not only not
marijuana; it could be called "anti-marijuana."
(http://www.industrialhemp.net/)

Uses of hemp
It can make hemp
fiber, which is longer, stronger, more absorbent and more insulative
than cotton fiber. According to the Department of Energy, hemp as
a biomass fuel producer requires the least specialized growing and
processing procedures of all hemp products. The hydrocarbons in hemp
can be processed into a wide range of biomass energy sources, from
fuel pellets to liquid fuels and gas. Development of biofuels could
significantly reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and nuclear
power. (See: Energy) Hemp grows well without herbicides, fungicides,
or pesticides, leading to less damage on the environment. Almost half
of the agricultural chemicals used on US crops are applied to cotton.
Also hemp produces more pulp per acre than timber on a sustainable
basis, and can be used for every quality of paper. Hemp paper
manufacturing can reduce waste water contamination. Hemp's low lignin
content reduces the need for acids used in pulping, and it's creamy
color lends itself to environmentally friendly bleaching instead of
harsh chlorine compounds. Less bleaching results in less dioxin and
fewer chemical byproducts. The uses are endless. It can be turned
into different textiles, paper, foods, fuel. But most importantly,
it'll create jobs, and save us money.
(http://rense.com/general49/could.htm)

The
reason hemp is illegal is because it will create competition for
current industries. Big oil, the timber industry, big pharma,
agriculture. You see, big business would rather stifle productivity
for their own personal profit. They're legally inclined to, because
of their share holders. The role of government is supposed to look
out for what will be best for the American people, in this case, that
would mean opening up an industry that could bring great wealth to
this country. Not stifling the market for the profits of a few.
There's no logical reason for hemp to be illegal, it's not marijuana
it's just branded that way so it's easier to suppress. But the case
for marijuana is starting to come around too.
(http://www.dailypaul.com/241707/this-is-why-we-should-legalize-hemp-and-the-real-reason-it-is-illegal)

For legalizing Marijuana the case is
pretty clear
There have been no reports of overdoses, Ever. It
would save money on our prison system because it's filled with non
violent drug offenders. (See: prison) Also we wouldn't be wasting tax
dollars through the police and DEA for searching it out. It would
destroy a source of income for drug cartels, thus lowering crime.
(See: Illegal Immigration) Just think about how well prohibition
worked on alcohol. Also it takes away the factor of pushing harder
drugs onto people for those that want to use marijuana and can only
get it from said cartels.

It's less addictive and healthier than
cigarettes and alcohol. It's a civil liberty to consume what you wish
because you’re not infringing upon anothers’ liberty. There's a
huge market for it to create jobs and then tax for revenue. Safety
issues should be dealt with through regulation, to limit toxins, but
when compared to cigarettes, there isn't much argument to regulate it
at all. It has multiple health benefits, from cancer to PTSD:
(http://www.cannabis-med.org/studies/study.php)

In 1925, H. L. Mencken wrote an
impassioned plea: "Prohibition has not only failed in its
promises but actually created additional serious and disturbing
social problems throughout society. There is not less drunkenness in
the Republic but more. There is not less crime, but more. ... The
cost of government is not smaller, but vastly greater. Respect for
law has not increased, but diminished." The same can be said for
today's approach on drugs. We've spent 1 trillion dollars on the war
on drugs, and what do we have to show for it. The U.S. Is #1 in drug
use. (http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500368_162-4222322.html
)

The United Nations estimated the global
illegal drug trade is worth more than $320 billion. This is giving
the underground and drug cartels a massive economic system to profit
from, leading to an increase in crime. In the U.S. if illegal drugs
were taxed at rates comparable to those on alcohol and tobacco, they
would yield $46.7 billion in tax revenue. Legalizing drugs would save
the U.S. about $41 billion a year in enforcing the drug laws. That's
$87.7 billion dollars that could be put to a much better use. We
wouldn't be wasting it running a police and prison state. We could
put it towards education and health. Treating drugs as a health issue
could save billions, improve public health and help us better control
violence and crime in our communities. Hundreds of thousands of
people have died from overdoses and drug-related diseases, including
HIV and hepatitis C, because they didn't have access to
cost-effective, life-saving solutions. Basically we would be
investing in people instead of prisons.
(http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/06/opinion/branson-end-war-on-drugs/index.html)

The
problem with just decriminalizing it, is that it doesn't solve the
drug cartel and crime issue. They still have a market to finance
their crimes, and we don't gain any revenue from this method. Also it
still leaves a terrible problem for our neighbors down south, which
seeps into the US. Hence why I recommend legalization
(http://www.businessinsider.com/methamphetamine-breaking-bad-mexico2012-7)

Coincidentally they have the most
private prisons. Private prison firms rely on steadily increasing
incarceration rates for their continued survival. For instance,
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the nation’s largest
for-profit, private prison owner and operator, admitted in its 2010
Annual Report that its “growth is generally dependent upon its
ability to obtain new contracts to develop and manage new
correctional and detention facilities. This has created an incentive
to lock up as many people as they can. CCA spends over $1.2 million
each year lobbying for more expansive crime laws. In addition, CCA's
performance as a company hinges on contractually guaranteed occupancy
rates of up to 90 percent by the government.
(http://www.businessinsider.com/10-ways-to-reduce-us-prison-population-2012-10)

So people become commodities for
corporations to exploit, a lot like what they do in China. This is
simply an abusive system, promotes income inequality and it hinders
jobs outside of prisons because people can't compete against this
form of labor.

This is why the war on drugs is so important.
More than half of America's federal inmates today are in prison on
drug convictions. In 2009 alone, 1.66 million Americans were arrested
on drug charges, more than were arrested on assault or larceny
charges. And 4 of 5 of those arrests were simply for possession.
(http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2109777,00.html)

So we have a situation where people are
profiting off of incarcerations and prison labor, then can turn to
the government, lobby and fund campaigns for stricter laws to lock up
more people. Thus giving them more profit to influence more laws.
(http://www.republicreport.org/2012/marijuana-lobby-illegal/)

A big part of this is because of
the war on drugs (See: War On Drugs), there's a big underground
financial system that incentivizes Mexican drug cartels to come here.
Hence my approach on legalizing, taxing, and regulating drugs and
turning it into a public health issue. This will break that whole
system apart and will lower crime, illegal immigration, and spending
on our whole police and prison system.

As for those that come here looking for
opportunity, let them. Let's take them in, the hindrance comes from
them being in this middle ground. As if they're stuck in purgatory.
Trying to police them and throw them out just costs a lot of money
and frankly isn't working since illegal immigration is still growing.
It also does nothing to make this country a better place, it just
reinforces this police state mentality we have. If we take them in,
they'll be paying taxes, we can educate them (See: Education) and
turn them into an asset for this country. Also it will put them on
the same playing field as other workers, so businesses can't get away
with using cheap labor for personal profit. (Which hinders our tax
paying work force and increases income inequality.)

In terms of drawing in educated workers
though, countries like Canada attract a greater influx of immigrants
with higher education levels and specialized skills through
immigration policies that specifically favor visa applicants with
advanced degrees or work experience. In contrast, U.S. policies place
more emphasis on family relationships and less consideration on
skills or education levels when granting permanent residence. Thus
pushing skills into other countries.
(http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/11/opinion/ghadar-immigration-policy/index.html)

Education:
The
U.S. Is 17th in education, and improvement is declining, for the
first time, we're about to have a generation that isn't more educated
than the previous one. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20154358)

Also 66% of all their students go to
college, for the US it's 66% that graduate high school. Meaning 46
out of 100 students in the U.S. go to college. That's a 20%
difference. Switching to this system simply provides better quality,
and it happens to be cheaper, Finland”s annual cost per child is
$5,653, The US it's $7,743. Even if we just dropped it down to $6,000
using these methods we would save $182.2 billion dollars a year.
(http://rossieronline.usc.edu/u-s-education-versus-the-world-infographic/)

Also there is a fight to privatize
schools. Education is a recession-proof industry that will always be
in high demand. The corporate money-changers know if they can get
their hands on this industry, "reform" it to replace
decently-paid teachers and faculty with cheaper teachers, and then
get taxpayers to foot the bill, quarterly profits and lavish bonuses
for CEOs can explode. Even in so-called "non-profit"
charter schools, management can make big bucks.
(http://www.alternet.org/education/why-you-can-kiss-public-education-and-middle-class-goodbye?paging=off)

The environment affects everything. Iit
affects weather, infrastructure, agriculture, health, animals, water,
anything you can think of. So taking care of our environment is of
the utmost importance for our civilization. I'll break down some of
the concepts, but the US Global Change Research Program released a
major analysis that does a better job than I ever could.

Scientists say the earth's climate has
been warming because carbon dioxide and other human-produced gases
hinder the planet's reflection of the sun's heat back into space,
creating a greenhouse effect. Another result is the likely release of
large amounts of methane -- a greenhouse gas -- trapped in the
permafrost under Greenland's ice cap, the remains of the region's
organic plant and animal life that were trapped in sediment and later
covered by ice sheets in the last Ice Age. Methane is 25 times more
efficient at trapping solar heat than carbon dioxide, and the
released gases could in turn add to global warming, which in turn
would free more locked-up methane.
(http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jKKr0IRUKbR6Se7mFZu_qfcFWZTw)

Polar Ice Caps Melting

The arctic ice coverage recently hit a
record low. The apparent low point for 2012 was reached Sunday (16
Sep 2012), according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, which
said that sea ice that day covered about 1.32 million square miles,
or 24 percent, of the surface of the Arctic Ocean. The previous low,
set in 2007, was 29 percent. When satellite tracking began in the
late 1970s, sea ice at its lowest point in the summer typically
covered about half the Arctic Ocean, but it has been declining in
fits and starts over the decades.

Personally, I feel that you should put
everything you can into a problem until it's truly and absolutely
over. This world is very unknown to us, and amazing things happen
everyday that we could never think of. Maybe if we can slow climate
change down enough, we can buy some time, giving technology enough
time to reach a point for a solution. The first thing we're going to
have to do though is reform our energy policy. To do that, we're
going to have to fix the mechanisms that are corrupting our
government.

Energy:
Energy is
one of the most complicated issues that we have.

It affects the military and national
security because of the need for oil. (See: War and Military)

It affects our health and environment
through CO2 emitions (which also affects agriculture), radioactive
waste and the high rate of risk that comes with nuclear, chemicals in
fracking affect our water. Also it affects the economy because of how
much we have to spend on it. Hence the more efficient we become the
better off we will be.

It is affected by how healthy our
economy is and our education system which determines innovation. Also
the political sphere, and our resources determine what approaches we
are able to take.

Fixing our political sphere (separating
special interests from government) will aid in fixing our economy,
and education system. All of which will help us solve this energy
problem, which is also affected by the political sphere. In turn this
will aid in solving health, environment and military issues. This is
how everything works together in our society. These are complex
issues that are all interconnected.

It's takes a cost benefit approach to
solve energy, the thing is, for a business, let's use oil as an
example, the benefit is profit, and damage to the environment is the
cost. So here we have a situation where the cost is socialized yet
the benefit is privatized.

This is where government is supposed to
step in and protect the people, but if... let's say a big oil company
has more influence over the government than the people do, through
something like campaign contributions (Contributors:
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=E01

Going into all the problems of the
different forms of energy is going to take forever, but I'll at least
leave you with some ideas and solutions that we can start moving
forward on to solve this crisis.

Now this doesn't mean that you just
stop buying hammers and quit building. You have to eliminate fraud
and waste as best as you can, to do that you have to understand that
fraud and waste are symptoms of a conflict of interest in our
government. As long as people can make money through this collusion
of business and government, they will, whether they realize the
damage it does to the country, or not.

We
need to keep in mind the similarities of this situation to the Roman
Empire as well. The Roman Empire collapsed because it could not
afford the upkeep of its military that was spread all around

Europe,
the Middle East and Northern Africa. There is a balance that needs to
be kept between a strong military and a strong economy, but focus
between these two always needs to be on the economy first, because
you can have a strong economy without a strong military (Iceland),
but you can't have a strong military without a strong economy. At
least not for long, because the military is dependent on funding.

War Crimes under the war on terror

War crimes are serious violations of
the laws applicable in armed conflict (also known as international
humanitarian law) giving rise to individual criminal responsibility.
Examples of such conduct include "murder, the ill-treatment or
deportation of civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave
labor camps", "the murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of
war", the killing of prisoners, "the wanton destruction of
cities, towns and villages, and any devastation not justified by
military, or civilian necessity"
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_crimes)

The story of Bradley Manning has opened
up knowledge into endless dynamics, like international relations,
global surveillance state, the rule of law, democracy, and the
freedom of speech. None of this can be summed up here so I recommend
that you do your own research on Bradley Manning and Wikileaks to
learn more about it.

Here are some video's to give you some
idea of the situation, as well as the size, scope, and importance of
this situation.

The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a
detainment and interrogation facility of the United States military
located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The facility was
established in January 2002 by the Bush Administration to hold
detainees it had determined to be connected with the opponents in
Afghanistan and later Iraq.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp)

Blowback is unintended consequences of
a covert operation that are suffered by the civil population of the
aggressor government. To the civilians suffering the blowback of
covert operations, the effect typically manifests itself as “random”
acts of political violence without a discernible, direct cause;
because the public in whose name the intelligence agency acted are
ignorant of the effected secret attacks that provoked revenge
(counter-attack) against them.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blowback_(intelligence)
Though this definition says “covert” blowback could also be
considered as retaliation for something that is public, but portrayed
differently through media, because of the lack of knowledge that the
public has of public events.

The more people we blow up, the more
that you can expect to retaliate and try to harm us. Especially since
we've harmed so many civilians in the war on terror. As I listed
above.

A wonderful speech was delivered in
1933, by Major General Smedley Butler, USMC. He basically explains
how war is a racket, how it equates to trading blood for profit, and
describes a situation that's incredibly similar to that of today.
(http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4377.htm)

A Rand report made systematic
examination and comparison of 268 groups using terror tactics in the
period from 1968 to 2006. It showed that several approaches have been
much more effective than military responses at eliminating future
attacks. They include criminal justice responses and attempts to
address the well-being concerns of both combatants and the broader
populace that might support them.

The study found that 40 percent of the
268 groups were eliminated through intelligence and policing methods;
43 percent ended their violence as a result of peaceful political
accommodation; 10 percent ceased their violent activity because they
had achieved their objectives (“victory”) by violence; and only 7
percent were defeated militarily.

Military responses have often created
more extensive violent response and terrorism against the civilian
population caught between two opposing forces. Civilian deaths also
become incentives for terror group recruitment and revenge attacks.
The wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan have instead served as an
effective recruiting device for new terrorists. In addition, wars
often create the conditions for additional violent conflicts over the
new resources and new political alignments created by an initial
invasion or occupation. The civil wars and criminal violence that
erupted in both Iraq and Afghanistan are examples of this phenomenon.
(http://costsofwar.org/article/alternatives-military-response-911)

In summary, the wars we wage and our
military are on a strikingly different course than what we believe,
it's put our national security at risk because of it's overly
aggressive actions and excessive spending. That's not to say that we
don't need to be hunting down terrorists, or that we don't need a
strong military to defend ourselves as well as our infrastructure.
It's just that we've taken a very authoritarian approach that seems
to be counterproductive and just produces more war. It's as if we're
trying to put out the fire of terrorism with gasoline instead of
water. At a great cost of finances, human life, and Americas’
integrity at that. Maybe if we learned a little more about these situations, then we could prevent them from happening again. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16990-2004Nov1.html)

The only way to balance out the
military so it isn't being pushed into excess or creating problems
for financial gain is to get rid of the conflict of interest. That
means closing the revolving door and ending corporate campaign
contributions. Because financial donors are profiting off of the
status quo, therefore they shouldn't be able to influence our
government, because they are legally obligated to generate more
wealth for their shareholders. Meaning that their intent is not for
the safety and protection of the American people, it is simply for
profit, and war can generate a lot of money.
(http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?Ind=D
, http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/contrib.php?ind=D)

Civil liberties are civil rights and
freedoms that provide an individual specific rights. In the US they
are supposed to be assured to us through the constitution, especially
its bill of rights. Though that doesn't appear to happen all the
time.

"A well-regulated Militia being
necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to
keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." The Second Amendment
of the United States Constitution

"And that the said Constitution be
never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of
the Press, or the rights of Conscience; or to prevent the people of
the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own
arms;…" Philadelphia Independent Gazetteer, August 20, 1789
quoting Propositions submitted to the Convention of this State by the
Honorable Samuel Adams, Esquire.

The Structure of our
Government:
We are supposed to be a republic (a form of
government in which the country is considered a "public matter",
not the private concern or property of the rulers) that has a
foundation of democracy (a form of government in which all eligible
citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives)
which we use to elects officials.

Campaign Finance
The problem is
that we no longer have an equal say in our government, because money
equals speech. Therefore the more money you have, the more you can
influences decisions. Meaning we don't have a democratic foundation
anymore because the influence over decisions is not equal, which is
causing us to also lose our republic, because decisions made in
government have become a private concern, and politicians basically
equate to the property of those who fund their campaigns. This is
because they/we are allowing them to be blackmailed/bribed. Either
they play ball with their corporate backers, or they lose to a
competitor who's willing to for the campaign funding. 90% of the
time, the candidate with the most amount of money wins.
(http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/11/money-wins-white-house-and.html)

What we have to do is adopt a system of
small-dollar public funding for Congress. Here's just one way of
doing this: almost every voter pays at least $50 in some form of
federal taxes. So imagine a system that gave a rebate of that first
$50 in the form of a “democracy voucher.” That voucher could then
be given to any candidate for Congress who agreed to one simple
condition: the only money that candidate would accept to finance his
or her campaign would be either “democracy vouchers” or
contributions from citizens capped at $100. No PAC money. No $2,500
checks. Small contributions only. And if the voter didn’t use the
voucher? The money would pass to his or her party, or, if an
independent, back to this public funding system.
(http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/opinion/in-campaign-financing-more-money-can-beat-big-money.html)

Revolving Door

The concept of the revolving door is
simply that people who work for corporations are put into positions
that influence policy decisions that affect the corporations they
worked for. It is an extreme conflict of interest. Here are some
examples:

There aren't many solutions to this,
you have to simply put pressure on politicians to close the revolving
door, but that pressure isn't as significant when politicians rely on
corporate funds for reelection, so fixing our campaign finance system
will aid in solving this problem.

Gerrymandering

In the process of setting electoral
districts, gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a
political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating
geographic boundaries to create partisan or incumbent-protected
districts. This is a form of controlling our democracy. It creates
more partisan and extreme politicians as well giving power to
incumbents.
(http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/55565199-82/congress-elected-party-republicans.html.csp)

Presidential debates were run by the
civic-minded League of Women Voters until 1988, when the national
Republican and Democratic parties seized control of the debates by
establishing the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). Posing as
a nonpartisan institution, the CPD has often run the debates in the
interests of the national Republican and Democratic parties, not the
American people.

Since 1988, negotiators for the Republican
and Democratic nominees have secretly drafted debate contracts that
dictate how the presidential debates will be structured. The CPD,
which is co-chaired by leading figures in the Republican and
Democratic parties, has implemented those contracts.

CPD
control of the presidential debates has harmed our democracy. Fewer
debates are held than necessary to educate voters. Candidates that
voters want to see are often excluded. Restrictive formats allow
participants to recite memorized soundbites and avoid actual debate.
Walter Cronkite called CPD-sponsored debates an "unconscionable
fraud". (http://www.opendebates.org/theissue/)

The best solution to this would be to
return the presidential debates to the League of Women Voters, and
make the rules more lenient to allow more voices to enter. Also,
polls that determine if a candidate has reached enough support need
to include all candidates who are running.

Election Fraud

America has had a rise in vote rigging
and suppression in recent years. From flipping votes with Diebold
electronic voting machines, to making people wait for hours to vote.
Murder Spies and Voting Lies does a wonderful job explaining vote
flipping software, and the circumstances around the 2004 election.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhBtfiRKaVY)

The difficulty in solving this problem
is that each state has its own issues, but to start, we should at
least get rid of electronic voting machines that can be tampered with
and make our whole voting system more transparent.

Lobbying itself is protected under the
freedom of speech, as it should be. It's just that because of
Citizens United, money = speech, meaning that the rich are able to
shout over the rest of the population. Creating unequal influence in
our government, which isn't democratic at all.

The 4th Estate:
Corporate
Media

The initial problem is that the media
is based solely on profit. I wouldn't say that it is under absolute
control by any means, but the atmosphere favors self profit over
informing the people. Also as time goes on, the media becomes more
monopolized/centralized. In 1983 50 companies owned 90% of what we
read, watch, or listen to. Now 6 Media giants control 90%. They are
GE, News-corp, Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, and CBS. Only three of
these have 24 hour cable news stations.
(http://www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america-2012-6)

Information from diverse, competitive,
and independent sources is vitally important to the health of a
democracy. Allowing this monopolization has become a major hindrance
in informing the American people.

“Journalism is the only profession
explicitly protected by the U.S. Constitution, because journalists
are supposed to be the check and balance on government. We're
supposed to be holding those in power accountable. We're not supposed
to be their megaphone. That's what the corporate media have become.”
- Amy Goodman from Democracy Now.

There are multiple issues that come
with this. First of all, it divides America, we've seen this heavily
in the battles between Fox News and MSNBC. Secondly it has resulted
in dividing our politicians as well, because it promotes extremism,
this is what helps cause gridlock in congress. A third issue is that
it has created a duopoly in our politics, it locks out ideas that
differ from the main two perspectives, ideas that may benefit
Americans more than what the two parties are talking about. Also,
when they actually agree on something, it is not talked about as much
in the news media because they can't use it to attack the other side.
This allows bills that could be very damaging to American to go
unnoticed. Like NDAA. (See: Civil Liberties)

This has basically destroyed the public
discourse. It has turned the use of the media as a problem solving
mechanism into, an entertainment/war against the opposing team
machine. Thus lacking some of the qualities needed to hold our
government and corporations accountable for their actions.

“The problem with the discourse deal
is capitalism... you can make a lot of money by being an assassin, a
lot of money, right wing or left wing, alright. You go in, and you’re
a hater, radio, cable, in print, whatever. You get paid, and there's
a lot of people who do that, and they go in, they don't even believe
half the stuff they say, and they just rip it up, and they get paid a
lot of money, and that has coarsened everything. They're phonies, um,
and capitalism drives that, there are people, Americans who want to
hear hate, and they hear it, and that has just blown it all up.” -
Bill O'reilly (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0pPicOxOzo)

Here's an ironic example of how the
left right paradigm creates conflict and then goes through an echo
chamber to get blown up and create ratings. While leaving out
important information that is necessary for Americans to make
informed decisions: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv74YD05LaI)

I've created a different way of looking
at politics to break the two party paradigm, as you can see here:
(http://imgur.com/M50yAEh)

Personally I think we shouldn't even
have parties, it's just too much of a manipulating and destructive
force. It seems to be so easy to portray a message that has roots in
thoughts like this: “Hey we're on the same party so you should vote
for me and hate the other guy because he's evil.”

Propaganda was recently legalized in
this years’ National Defense Authorization Act.
(http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/05/bipartisan-congressional-bill-would-authorize-the-use-of-propaganda-on-americans-living-inside-america-because-banning-propaganda-ties-the-hands-of-americas-diplomatic-officials-mil.html)
Propaganda
is media primarily intended to influence an audience, as opposed to
educate that audience. This is the most dangerous threat to our
democracy. Information is power, and when information can be used
against the American people, to instill fear, or manipulate the
hearts and minds of the American people, then they aren't able to
make informed decisions, and are basically under the control of
whoever is informing them. This is the reason the internet has fought
so hard against bills like SOPA, PIPA, and many other bills that may
take freedom away from the internet. Because the internet is
currently the most open information source there is. That may come
with its own set of problems, but at least its not dictated
information from a centralized source like the pentagon. The press
needs to remain free, open, and honest. Without that America will
never truly be free, because they won't be informed enough to even
know if they are free.

This clip from The Newsroom does an
excellent job of portraying why a diverse, intelligent, and honest
media is necessary. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJWKccHQFOA)
The first step to solving any problem is realizing there is
one.

Summary:
We have six major issues to
solve in America, The first three are the most important, they
are:

Campaign Finance
The Revolving Door

The Consolidation of Media

These
three issues have consolidated an immense amount of power into the
hands of very few people, an “Elite” you could say.

Campaign
Finance affects everything. Every policy and decision that matters
gets warped in favor of whoever has the most money to spend on
politicians, whether or not you vote for a democrat or republican,
because both have the incentive to get re-elected, and under our
current system, that desire forces them to focus on who's funding
them more than the general populace. Therefore, policies lean more in
their favor, because if they don't, the rich will just fund someone
else who will favor them.

The Revolving Door is also a part of
this centralization of power because people are put into positions
where they have a conflict of interest. Ex: Working for a
corporation, then being put into a position that regulates said
corporation, then going back to work for said corporation. This gives
a financial incentive to have a bias to the corporation, thus,
directing more power and money to that corporation.

The Media
has become centralized, thus their narrative is less diverse. Also
its focus is on profits instead of reporting. Therefore creating an
atmosphere that favors entertainment more than informing the public,
which is its societal function. As well as not reporting about
certain corporations for fear of losing their funding through
advertising. This has been seen on cable news channels more than
anywhere else.

After that, we have to fix the structure of our
government, because of the manipulation that has happened to our
democracy, they are highly unaccountable to the American people. (see
Structure of our government), the issues are:

Gerrymandering

Election Fraud

Open Debates

Gerrymandering distorts and manipulates
our democracy, It disenfranchises voters and allows politicians to
manipulate the elections in their own favor against the will of the
people, by drawing districts however they want.

Election Fraud is completely unethical.
It is literally the stealing of political positions. This cannot be
allowed, because it is another form of taking or holding on to power
that the people did not actually entitle to the individual who won
from a rigged election.

Open Debates are an important part of
our democracy. They allow the American people to become informed of
our political situations from different perspectives. If other
perspectives are not allowed in, diverse concepts and solutions are
not heard about. This lack of competition allows politicians who may
not have the best ideas or interest to obtain power without
challenge.

The reason we have to fix these
things, besides the fact that this is our country, is that they are
what hinders us from solving our economic, debt and social issues. We
have an insane $16.4 trillion dollar debt and a $1 trillion dollar
deficit that's making it worse (http://www.usdebtclock.org/).

We also have an economy that isn't
sustaining us with jobs or wages, and a social crisis in the form of
the health and welfare of the American people. Our environment is
going through changes, and we need to prepare for the effects whether
you believe it is man made or not. Either something has to give, or
something has to change, because right now we're headed towards an
economic collapse.

So we're left with one option to get
out of this situation, restore and grow the economy as quickly as
possible with the least amount of damage done to the people. To do
that, you have to implement new solutions. Like restructuring our
trade and tax code, to drive wealth into the country, not out like
we've been doing. Education reform like Finland, because it's a long
term investment into the American people, as well as costing less.
Fix our food and agriculture issue, so we can produce more food and
save on health costs, Switch to single payer healthcare, again it
costs less, it frees up small businesses because they don't have to
deal with insurance, and you’re investing in the American people,
which always helps the economy. Open up a new market with hemp and
marijuana, it'll create new jobs, bring money into our economy, save
money on prisons, bring in revenue through taxes, and lower crime
because drug cartels lose a source of income. Restore our
infrastructure, a common investment that generates wealth. Shift our
energy policy towards both self sustaining and clean, this will help
with the environment and lessen the need for creating wars for our
“national interest”, and finally, cut as much fraud and waste out
of the military as you can. It's more of a national security threat
to have an unstable economy than it is to not constantly keep our war
machine going at 120%.

There's just one major problem,
Corporatism. Or one could say at this point, Fascism. You see,
fascism is the fusion of government and industry. Basically it's a
force that centralizes power into the hands of the few. It's a subtle
thing, something that creeps into a society through a system of
constant justification and responding to situations with fear.
Politicians won't be branding swastikas, they'll just respond to
problems with austerity and authoritarianism, because it's what
they've been doing, and that's what has been getting them re-elected
because it's profitable for corporations bottom line, and CEOs
pockets. Politicians need corporate campaign funding. So they will
continue down this path to keep their job.

"Fascism should more
properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and
corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

“America slipping into a fascist
system ruled by big business”- Ron Paul

“A handful of billionaires own a
significant part of the wealth of America and have enormous control
over our economy. What the Supreme Court did in Citizens United is to
say to these same billionaires: "You own and control the
economy, you own Wall Street, you own the coal companies, you own the
oil companies. Now, for a very small percentage of your wealth, we're
going to give you the opportunity to own the United States
government.”” - Bernie Sanders

In summary, a soft version of
fascism has come to America. Possibly in the form of conspiracy
(Meaning malicious intent.), but I have a rule to remember about
people, it's that “Most people in the world aren't evil, they just
don't realize that what they're doing is.” So no I don't think this
is a conspiracy, I really do believe it's here in the form of our own
human nature. In some ways that's worse because people don't ever
like to believe that they're wrong and getting people to check
themselves is proving to be difficult. Specifically the people up
top, they can't really see what they're doing because they're
isolated. They don't see the world like everyone else does.
Millionaires and billionaires are the ones that influence government,
and nearly half of the members of Congress are millionaires according
to the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), a Washington watchdog
group.
(http://money.msn.com/investing/latest.aspx?post=70cc8f98-07b4-4e4e-923e-5569bd82627d)

This situation is the reason that none
of these solutions on improving the country can be implemented, that
is until the public is informed and they stand up for themselves by
taking control of their government again. It's most likely not in the
interest of anyone who's profiting from the status-quo, meaning CEO's
who profit from lobbying and funding campaigns, and those that get
elected from selling out their position for campaign dollars. So I
doubt that they're going to do anything about it. If nothing is done,
power and money will continue to get consolidated in the hands of the
“Elite”, and Americans will continue to lose their rights and
their influence over the government. America cannot survive under
this course. Its’ economy and social structure cannot survive under
this course. You can see the results of our current path here:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdPkaCTdxBU).

The American fascists are most easily
recognized by their deliberate perversion of truth and fact. Their
newspapers and propaganda carefully cultivate every fissure of
disunity, every crack in the common front against fascism. They use
every opportunity to impugn democracy. They use isolationism as a
slogan to conceal their own selfish imperialism. They cultivate hate
and distrust of both Britain and Russia. They claim to be
super-patriots, but they would destroy every liberty guaranteed by
the Constitution. They demand free enterprise, but are the spokesmen
for monopoly and vested interest. Their final objective toward which
all their deceit is directed is to capture political power so that,
using the power of the state and the power of the market
simultaneously, they may keep the common man in eternal subjection.

It seems that history is repeating
itself, it's just much more subtle, therefore more dangerous. It
seems that the American experiment is coming to a close, the light of
democracy and freedom will no longer be there to guide the world out
of the dark. If nothing is done that is.

“The end of democracy and the defeat
of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the
hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations.” - Thomas
Jefferson

If you want to solve Americas’
problems, then you need to decentralize power, which stems from its
conflicts of interest, it is the silver bullet to a prosperous
America. That means fixing Campaign Finance, The Revolving Door, The
Consolidation of Media, Gerrymandering, Election Fraud, and Opening
up the Debates. Everything else will fall into place after that.

So I ask that you please spread
this around and inform as many people as possible. I've simplified (I
know it's long, but that's the complexity of our country) and sourced
this article as much as I could. Everyone is authorized to publish
this, though I can't say the same for all the links, but all the
links are public, so it should be ok. If this doesn't get through to
the country, then I am left without ideas or hope, and I fear that
all is lost.